Doctor will see you now but not your relatives too

DOCTORS in Scotland are banning desperate patients from taking their relatives with them to appointments in a bid to beat long waiting times.

An overworked Inverness-shire surgery has put out a warning after seeing a spate of patients taking relatives in to be seen at the same time.

Last night the BMA backed the advice from Mallaig and Arisaig medical practice, with a statement that it is ‘not appropriate’ to make an appointment for more than one person.

It follows requests from family doctors for patients to come in with only one medical problem at a time, due to the controversial ten-minute average appointment time they have with each person. The surgery’s message to patients warns: ‘Please do not bring family members to your appointment and ask for them to be seen “while they are here”.

‘This has become an increasing problem as people try to get round the waiting time for appointments.’

There have been reports of patients waiting three weeks to see a doctor in Scotland, with the Royal College of General Practitioners revealing last month that 93 per cent of GPs believe waiting times will only increase without more resources.

This means more than three-quarters of doctors worry about missing something serious with a patient because of their workload. But it has also pushed time-pressed patients into trying to circumvent the system.

Mallaig and Arisaig medical practice said doctors were being overloaded with up to six health problems at a time, whether brought in by one person or by a group of family members.

It has told patients: ‘When you see the GP, please do not expect to have multiple issues dealt with in your ten to 15-minute appointment.

‘It is not unusual for your GP to be presented with a list of half-a-dozen problems, with the expectation that all of these can be appropriately and safely dealt with in just two to three minutes each.

‘If you have multiple problems, please prioritise them, and try to present no more than is absolutely necessary.’

Dr Alan McDevitt, chair of BMA Scotland’s GP Committee, said: ‘GPs have a limited time allocated to each appointment to discuss a patient’s health concerns.

‘It is important that they can focus on that individual if they are to provide an adequate assessment of their condition and any treatment which might be required.

‘Longer appointments can usually be arranged for patients with more complex health care needs. But we would agree that it is not appropriate or effective to make a single appointment for more than one person.’

Health Secretary Shona Robison said last night: ‘We have committed to increasing, in every year of this parliament, the share of the NHS budget dedicated to primary care.

‘In Scotland we are transforming primary care, supported by £85million of extra investment to put in place long-term, sustainable change within GP services that can better meet changing needs and demands.

‘Within NHS Highland, the Health and Care Experience Survey 2015/16 showed that 80 per cent of people were happy with their arrangements for getting to see a doctor, which was 8 per cent above the Scottish average.’

‘People trying to get round waiting time’